Absorbent articles, such as diapers and adult incontinence products, are well known articles of commerce. Multiple attempts have been made to provide them with an overall good fit and with a high absorbent capacity. Modern diapers make use of superabsorbent materials which allow for storage of significant amounts of aqueous liquids such as urine (e.g., on the order 300 ml for a typical baby diaper).
While such an absorbent article is generally a disposable product, it is frequently worn over many hours and worn in a dry state as well as in a urine loaded state. As a result, providing good wearing comfort is very important both when the article is dry and when the article is fully or partially loaded with urine (or other bodily liquids).
One way the art has approached wearing comfort is to provide thinner absorbent articles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,402 describes an absorbent article with a dual layer core where the lower core component has a relatively high concentration of superabsorbent material and a relatively high density. U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,264 describes sanitary napkins with fiber/superabsorbent material blends where the superabsorbent is at a relatively high concentration. U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,597 describes absorbent polymeric macrostructures that comprise an interparticle crosslinked aggregate where individual superabsorbent particles are reacted with an interparticle crosslinking agent to form an aggregate which may take a sheet form. U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,497 discloses an absorbent article which includes superabsorbent material located in discrete pockets formed between a first and a second carrier layer and water-sensitive attaching means for securing the carrier layers together to form the pockets. U.S. Pat. Application Publication No. US 2004/0167486 discusses absorbent articles with a discontinuous layer of superabsorbent material. The layer may contain up to 20% of an absorbent fibrous material.
The art has also considered increasing density as a means to achieve thinness. For example, published U.S. Pat. Application Publication No. US 2005/0119632 discloses absorbent structures said to feature a relatively high concentration of superabsorbent material, a relatively high density and a relatively high level of flexibility.
However, there is a continuing need for absorbent articles having improved thinness and flexibility that maintain the capability to acquire and store enough of the fluid deposited thereon so as to continue to provide desirable wearer skin dryness and satisfactory leakage performance. Caregivers and adult wearers of such absorbent articles desire improved discretion in order that a diaper is less visible under clothes or, in the case of an infant diaper, looks more like underwear. More conformable cores are also desired in order to reduce the amount of material placed between a wearer's legs.